Questionnaires

Questionnaires

1. Definition

   • A questionnaire is a research instrument consisting of a series of questions for the purpose of gathering information from respondents.

2. Types

   • The mail survey
     • The mail survey is, by far, the most common questionnaire type. This instrument is addressed to respondents and delivered by mail, and can be an efficient way of collecting large amounts of data. The mail survey is, however, sometimes considered impersonal and can suffer from low response rates.
   • The group-administered questionnaire
     • The group-administered questionnaire is a useful instrument for collecting data from a sample of respondents who can naturally be brought together for the purpose. This type of instrument allows each member of the group to complete his or her own questionnaire and return it to the researcher on completion.
   • The household drop-off survey
     • The household drop-off survey is a hybrid of the mail and the groupadministered survey. Using this approach, the researcher delivers the questionnaire by hand to a member of an identified household for collection at some later date. Among the advantages of this approach are that the drop-off and subsequent collection affords the opportunity for those completing the instrument to clarify questions posed with the researcher.

3. Issues

   • • Dishonest answers • Unanswered questions • Differences in understanding and interpretation • Hard to convey feelings and emotions • Some questions are difficult to analyze • Respondents may have a hidden agenda • Lack of personalization • Unconscientious responses • Accessibility issues • Questionnaire or survey fatigue

4. Data analysis

   • Take a look at your top research questions
   • Draw conclusions
   • Crunch the numbers
   • Cross-tabulate and filter your results

5. Uses

   • We often require information on a range of subjects and to obtain that information we may be required to ask people questions. Questionnaires can be designed and used to collect vast quantities of data from a variety of respondents.

6. Limitations

   • One of the major limitations of the education questionnaire is that it can be administered only on subjects with a considerable amount of education. Complex questionnaire requiring elaborate written replies can be used indeed on a very small percentage of population.
   • In a mailed questionnaire, the proportion of returns is usually low; it may sometimes be as low as 10%. Among the factors that may affect the returns are the sponsoring agency, the attractiveness of the questionnaire, its length, nature of the accompanying appeal, the care of filling out the questionnaire and of mailing it back, inducements for replying and the kind of people to whom questionnaire is sent, etc.
   • In a questionnaire, if the respondent misinterprets a question or writes his reply unintelligibly, there is very little that can be done to correct this. In this approach there is no facility for repeating questions, explaining them or seeking clarification of a particular response.
   • The usefulness of the questionnaire is restricted to issues on which the respondents have more or less crystallized views that can be simply expressed in words.
   • The success of the questionnaire approach depends upon the ‘sense of responsibility’ among the subjects. A serious attempt at filling out the questionnaire-format presupposes, among other things, the awareness on the part of the subjects of their responsibility to the larger institution of science.
   • A significant limitation of the questionnaire is that the researcher/investigator is not in a position to vary the stimuli or social atmosphere impinging upon the subjects according to his designs.